Stories about Sweden
Video: Impressions from the Climate Change Conference
We bring you some video impressions from people at the Climate Change Conference that took place during the first weeks of December in Copenhagen, Denmark. From protests, to dances, arts and presentations, a small sample of COP15.
Young Leaders from Sweden and Middle East in Dialogue
Last month, the Swedish Institute in Paris hosted a meeting of 26 young people from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Sweden to improve dialogue between opinion leaders in Sweden, the Middle East and North Africa. Global Voices in French was there.
Finland: The Language Issue
Nordic Voices writes about Finland's “language issue.”
Egypt: Another journalist to be deported
"Your name [is] on the computer." With those words Cairo-based Swedish journalist and blogger Per Bjorklund is being turned away from the Cairo Airport, where he landed a few hours ago. Egypt's bloggers are angry and speaking up against it.
Arab World: Young People Gather to Learn Social Media Tools
Young people from eight Arab countries and Sweden met last May to learn certain leadership and organizational skills, and how to use the tools of social media to advance social change. Now, they are preparing to meet again in November.
MENA: Introducing, “The Circumventer”
Alexandra Sandels, from MENASSAT, writes her interview with Walid Al-Saqaf, a Sweden-based Yemeni Internet expert, regarding the launch of his new program Al-Kasir (means the circumventer in Arabic) – during a summit on blogging in Cairo which was entitled “Blogging for the Future“. Al-Kasir, which is currently available in its...
Russia-Sweden: Wallenberg case as family tragedy
LaurenceJarvikOnline comments on a Wall Street Journal story on how the family of Swedish World War II diplomat, Raoul Wallenberg, suffered from the uncertainty of his destiny in soviet captivity.
Russia, EU: “Policy-Media Interaction” and Blogging
Vilhelm Konnander posts his reflections on Russia-focused blogging and “policy-media interaction”: “So, by the end of the day, there is little room for deviance as the public policy-media discourse evolves. When one, to the contrary, gets one's message across, there is no saying how it will be processed by its...
Russia: Vegetarian Borscht
Russian Blog shares a vegetarian borscht recipe.
Palestine: Shoe thrown at Israel's ambassador to Sweden
Palestinian Laila El Haddad links to a video and story showing protesters throwing a shoe at Israel's Ambassador to Sweden Benny Dagan, during a talk at Stockholm University.
Europe: “Who Needs the Euro?”
Andrei Tuch of AnTyx writes at Th!nk About It: “So, for the eleven member states who still use their own currencies – and especially the more developed ones, whose economies might have some chance of standing on their own without leaning on the European Central Bank – the question is:...
Europe: Entropa
Belatedly, links to some posts on Entropa: Margarete of The Foreigner's Guide to Living in Slovakia believes “it should be taken down”; Kosmopolito thinks that “the debate around the project is also part of the installation”; BBC's Mark Mardell writes that “the fact that it is a hoax does not...
Sweden: Immigration
Certain Ideas of Europe writes: “Not all of those Polish plumbers leaving Britain and Ireland as the economies slow are necessarily going straight home. Sweden has seen immigration surge to record levels this year.”
Egypt Ranks High in Corruption
Egypt ranks 115 in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index, which tracks 180 countries by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys. The rankings are in ascending order, with the more corrupt countries scoring higher ranks.
Jordan: An Encounter with a Bisexual in Iran
Jordanian Rami Abdelrahman, who lives in Sweden, posts this fascinating post by a Swedish friend who travelled to Iran on a study visit and his encounter with a ‘bisexual’ tour guide.
Iran:An Iranian Lesbian needs urgent help in Sweden
Iranian Queer Organization (IRAQO) asks people to help a young Iranian lesbian who escaped Iran to Sweden in January 2008 on base of her sexual orientation. According to this organization she is at a mental hospital now.
Ukraine, EU: A Closer Relationship?
The EU's plan to finalize an Association Agreement with Ukraine in 2009 was made public at the EU-Ukraine Summit in Paris on Sept. 9. The media and bloggers greeted it with mixed reactions. “EU offers reassurance to Ukraine,” read a BBC headline. “EU offers no promises to hopeful Ukraine,” wrote...
Bahrain: Hair-raising conversation
Sous, a Swede living in Bahrain, repeats a conversation she had with an Indian woman, who after finding out that Sous was fasting told her she should cover her hair: “Swede: Well, I’m thinking to shave it all off and then that problem is solved! Indian:No!…Aren’t you married? Swede: No....
Sweden: A Newspaper Blog for Ramadan
The second largest Swedish daily newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet, has launched a Ramadan blog, where three practising Muslim bloggers - a policeman, a student, and a lawyer - reflect on everyday life throughout the Holy Month. Subjects span the high and low in an attempt to portray what it means to be Muslim in Swedish society today.
China: The Beijing Bay
Via TorrentFreak, on the IOC's takedown notice sent not to p2p network The Pirate Bay which was hosting torrents of Olympics footage, but Sweden's Minister of Justice: “We were going to ignore the Olympics, but now we’re loading our cannons. Our weapons of mass distribution are pointed towards China.”
South Ossetia: Swedish Foreign Minister on the Conflict
Carl Bildt, Swedish Foreign Minister and former EU special envoy to the Former Yugoslavia, states on his blog Alla dessa dagar that the conflict in South Ossetia has put basic principles of the international community at stake.